Real Couples Confess: "What's Weird About Us"

We asked a bunch of happily married coupled people to tell us how they stay close. Boy, did they have some odd tricks -- but who cares, they work!

We asked a bunch of happily married coupled people to tell us how they stay close. Boy, did they have some odd tricks -- but who cares, they work!

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LWA/Dann Tardif

Our stay-close secret:

Just the other night, I was having dinner with my guy of 12 years at a swanky restaurant, and I couldn't stop staring at the painting across the room. When I said, "I finally know what that reminds me of..." he finished, "...that painting of all those people at the beginning of Good Times?" Seriously, not even Picasso would have looked at those swirly blobs and come up with that — but my guy saw what I did. Our brains work in the same wonky way, which is why he understands me like nobody else does. That doesn't mean we always get along; there have been times when I thought the mere sight of him would land me on CNN, being escorted away in handcuffs. But our moments of spookily accurate couple ESP remind me that what we have is special. You share each other with the world, but knowing that there's something you only do with — or get about — one another is what makes you feel so wholly lucky to be together. I asked other couples what makes them feel bonded, and learned that the strangest things are often the most powerful.

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Jupiterimages

Our stay-close secret:

"Whenever we argue, we solve it while playing the video game Gears of War. Nothing boosts the romance like running each other through with a chain saw." — KATRINA DUFF, 27, DUMFRIES, VA, MARRIED FOR 7 YEARS

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Garry Wade

Our stay-close secret:

"My husband and I never kiss just once — it's always five kisses in a row, even before we go to sleep. It's like giving ourselves good relationship luck." — JANE ATKINSON, 47, LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA, MARRIED FOR 4 YEARS

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Dougal Waters

Our stay-close secret:

"We write messages to each other with an old-school bar of soap on our bathroom mirror. As our kids have gotten older (and literate), our messages have become more PG, but still always loving and encouraging." — MARY SUSAN BUHNER, 40, INDIANAPOLIS, MARRIED FOR 15 YEARS

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Getty Images for Grey Goose

Our stay-close secret:

"Being with my husband, Brad, is like having my own personal Magic 8-Ball. He has only two answers for any question — 'No' or 'Go' — and he's always right. Nowadays I'm in constant motion, off to cover an unfolding drama, launching my new CNN morning show, starting a foundation to help underprivileged girls go to college. Life could be really complicated and stressful, but it's not, because before I make a decision, I look to Brad. I know he has thought about what works best for his objective, my objective, and for our four kids. I love him because his answer is almost always 'Go.'" — SOLEDAD O'BRIEN is a special correspondent for CNN and anchor of the network's new morning show Starting Point With Soledad O'Brien

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Photolibrary

Our stay-close secret:

"We have 'college night' dinners, where I cook one of the few meals — Hamburger Helper, beans, and cut-up hot dogs — we knew how to make and could afford back in college when we first started dating. It always brings us right back to that time when we were totally smitten." — CAROLINE CRAFTON, 34, PHOENIX, MARRIED FOR 5 YEARS

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White Packert

Our stay-close secret:

"Most nights when my husband gets ready for bed, he'll take off his giant socks (he wears a size-17 shoe), ball them up, and throw them at me. I duck and try to make him miss, then throw them back. It's our way of always ending the day on a fun note. If we've missed a night or two, I tease, 'You haven't thrown a sock at me in a while.'" — MARY ST. JOHN, 40, TEMECULA, CA, MARRIED FOR 12 YEARS

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John Giustina

Our stay-close secret:

"Every morning when we get to the subway platform, I say, 'What should we touch?' Then we touch forehead to forehead or ear to ear or something else. My favorite is touching eyes, because it's funniest." — JULIA GRAEPER, 34, BROOKLYN, NY, MARRIED FOR 2 YEARS

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Getty Images

Our stay-close secret:

"When I met the man who would become my husband, he had his bachelor pad in New York while I was used to suburban family life out in Connecticut, where I lived with my kids from my first marriage. We'd have date nights in the city, staying over in his apartment, but the leather sofa and unused galley kitchen never felt like home to me. After we were married three years ago, we decided to keep his apartment and go our own ways for two or three nights a week. Initially it was for both of us to have alone time with our kids, but after a while we realized how much we loved the effect that a little separation had on our relationship. Those solitary times are my idea of heaven: My husband gets to enjoy his city fix, while I curl up on my squashy sofa and crawl into bed early with a stack of books and no TV. I truly believe these nights on our own are what keep things hot between us — when he comes home on a Wednesday evening, I'm so excited to see him. Still." — JANE GREEN is the author of 12 best-selling novels, including Jemima J. and The Beach House. Her newest, Another Piece of My Heart, is out this month.

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Sporrer/Rupp

Our stay-close secret:

"My husband and I share a dessert almost every night, usually a bowl of ice cream. And for years we've had an ongoing competition to see who can convince the other to take the last bite. Saying, 'No, you have it' is code for 'No, I love you more.'" — CAMILLE PAGÁN, 33, ANN ARBOR, MI, MARRIED FOR 7 YEARS

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David Lees

Our stay-close secret:

"Maybe it's not the wine that makes my marriage work. Maybe it's the intimate conversation we have over our nightly bottle, after we put the kids to bed but before we watch a movie or fill out insurance forms. Maybe it's the time we dedicate to not scrubbing baby bottles or folding onesies or answering emails or watching Downton Abbey on DVR (I know it's not the most masculine show, but watching it helps make my marriage work too). Maybe it's that we're not sitting in front of the TV — because not sitting in front of the TV, or consuming any electronic media whatsoever, is the main reason we started the whole tradition a year or so ago in the first place. It might also be the hors d'oeuvres platter my wife prepares while I'm doing the uncorking. But then again, it might just be the wine. It unlocks all the little static-y pressure centers that have been bound up all day. And that thing they say about liquor making you feel good? It's true." — DEVIN FRIEDMAN is a senior correspondent at GQ

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Image Source

Our stay-close secret:

"On Sunday nights, we grab an anchovy pizza with raw garlic on a garlic crust. It's so strange that all I have to do is say my name to the pizza place, and they hang up and deliver it. It's our excuse to spend time together, communicate, and... stink." — GLEN TIBALDEO, 40, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, 7 YEARS

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